Grangers ousted in semifinals

LaGrange High’s state championship aspirations ended at the hands of road warriors.

Flowery Branch, in the first semifinal game in school history, won its fourth road game of the Class AAA payoffs at Callaway Stadium, handing the Grangers a 28-0 loss Friday night.

LaGrange’s offense could never get its rhythm, while the Falcons rode the spectacular legs of running back David Drummond, who ran for three second-half touchdowns.

“We just did what we’ve been doing,” said Falcons head coach Lee Shaw. “After a while Daniel was able to break a few long runs and now we’re going to the Georgia Dome.”

The Falcons will face Cairo High, which beat Carver 42-13 Friday, Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. in the title game.

Drummond – a Georgia Tech committment – had a special night. The senior had second-half touchdowns runs of 64, 81 and 9 yards and had more than 250 total yards on the ground.

The Grangers, who played excellent defense in the first half, didn’t have an answer for Drummond, who is also a key defensive end for the Falcons.

“(Drummond) is a little bit better than we thought he was,” LaGrange head coach Steve Pardue said. “He’s real athletic and has a lot of speed.”

The Granger offense sputtered most of the night, although running back Ocie Salter had nearly 100 yards on 20 carries.

The game was still in doubt, though, when the Grangers had their best scoring opportunity of the night.

With less than 10 minutes left in the game, LaGrange’s Joseph Mansour punted to Greg Palmer, who fumbled the ball and gave possession to the Grangers at the 12-yard line, with linebacker Qua Huzzie recovering the fumble.

Palmer would have the last laugh, however, as he intercepted a pass from quarterback Rodney Tolbert in the end zone to squash the Grangers’ hopes of a comeback.

Moments later, Drummond had an 81-yard touchdown run on third-and-10, and the Falcons had the game in hand.

Tolbert was chased all night by the Flowery Branch defense and was sacked four times. The senior also had threw two interceptions, both in the fourth quarter.

In the second quarter, Grangers cornerback Darren Hairston limped off the field with an apparent leg injury. Although he would return, his absence on the field for one play was enough for the Falcons to take advantage.

Flowery Branch quarterback Connor Shaw – the head coach's son – saw a wide-open Rodriquez Frazier down the right sideline for a 74-yard touchdown. Will Monday’s extra point was good, and the Falcons led 7 -0 with less than five minutes remaining in the first half.

It was all the points Flowery Branch would need.

The LaGrange offense made it past the 50-yard line just four times, and came away empty-handed on each occasion.

Although Flowery Branch won decisively, Pardue was proud that the team made it as far as it did.

“We’re all disappointed, including me,” Pardue said. “If they’re not upset, I don’t think they had enough invested in this. We were semifinalists in the state. It’s unfortunate we can’t go on, but I’m proud of these kids for their effort.”

For the Falcons, the win is just another step toward their goal of a state championship. Flowery Branch has made the state championship game in its seventh year of existence.

“Our goal is to win the state championship,” Shaw said. “Now, we have the opportunity to play for one.”

While Drummond was the key player for the Falcons, Shaw credited the rest of the team for the victory over the No. 2-seeded Grangers.

“This was a total team effort,” Shaw said. “The offensive line played great and we made the plays we needed to. (Drummond) made some plays but we won because of the team effort.”